New Loti!!!

Spudcula said:

Hello, New here and i just recently got a new juvenile axolotl! his/her name is Spud and shes spoiled rotten already, she gets a cube of freeze dried blood worms every other day. I'm currently in college with a marine biologist as my reference for all my husbandry questions. my herd of goldfish in my ten gallon are wonderful but with my loti I had to do my research shes in a 5 gallon cause shes only a few inches long. The plan is the graduate her to the 10 gallon and my goldfish to a 20.

so i do have a few questions for all of you professionals,
1. what is her color morph or her predicted ? i know shes young and could change but I've noticed small flecks of color on her and I'm not sure if its her color variation or something serious (photos attached for reference).
The pics are out of focus and I don't see what you're referring to.
2. I have thanksgiving break coming up, and i was wondering if should take her back home with me and disturb the tank or should i keep her here? her tank will still be regulated but the only issue is the feedings since it would only be a total of 4 days.with the goldfish its easy cause of the vacation feeders... but you can't exactly do that with blood worms. so opinions?
Leave them. For only 4 days they will be fine. Maybe give them an extra fat worm before you go.
3. how should i go about cleaning? shes currently in a planted sand tank and i get the poo out and water changes and make should to do constant water tests.
I spot clean poops with a turkey baster. It's the common method. I have snails and ghost shrimp and the filter to clean up the rest between water changes.
4. Also any general advice for a newbie?
1. Watch them often. This way you get a baseline for behavior and catch problems early.
2. In that size a tank, the more water changes the better. When full grown one should be in a 20 gallon long tank at least.
3. They love to hid during the day so make sure there's at least 2 pvc pipes or caves if you have the $$$.
4. I found keeping the tank cool (below 68 F) to be a challenge bested with a fan blowing over the water.

Also i forgot to mention my university has a herpitarium that breeds axies (not where i bought her) but just another place of reference for my axie questions.

Thanks for all the help!

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